


The Farthest We’ve Ever Been

by Fearthefaithful



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Adoption, Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angry Ben, College, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Kickboxing, Love, Sex, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Rey/Kylo Ren, age gap, angry rey, but not really, but not too bad, fast update, just read it pls, moody Kylo Ren, moody ben, siblings ish, slight master kink, time jumps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-17 01:09:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15450018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fearthefaithful/pseuds/Fearthefaithful
Summary: When she was young she was angry. All Rey could think about was how angry she was. And she remembers how angry he was too, but she never asked why. Even after their long moments of sitting silently on the roof It never occurred to her that she should ask. But they bonded, in a weird way, they became friends in a way that no one understood. And after 10 years of no one understanding, she thought maybe it was the time, at her adoptive father’s funeral, to figure It out. But he’s too drunk to even talk to. And Ben Solo might have been an angry person as a teenager but he’s a raging drunk adult now.OrRey gets adopted into the Solo family, and Ben is now her moody older adoptive brother. But once she’s older she doesn’t like the B word. (Brother)





	1. The Adoption, Adaption Process

Rey remembered walking into the house. She would never forget the moment she walked into the house. It was forever engrained into her brain. After being in different foster homes for the past 12 years of her life, she thought she was used to It. But suddenly she was in someone’s house that could be semi permanent. At least maybe. The lady who’s hand was on her back slowly guided her into the house, and she seemed nice enough. Rey didn’t fully understand the situation but the social worker explained that Lady behind her and the Lady’s husband were both very good friends with her parents. Who had conveniently died 5 months after she was born. But It had been 12 years, and these people who were best friends with her parents decided to show up 12 years late. Her social worker had said that no one was able to find her parents will until just recently and in the will It gave her over to the Solo’s as her guardian. Rey couldn’t help but think how convenient It all was. She was just shy of her 13th birthday and now she was getting a family. A real family. 

Maybe. 

Regardless, the house was huge. Rey glanced up at the door way and estimated It to be almost 3 times her height. And the ceilings inside were 3 times as tall as that. She had no idea how many people lived here but she had no idea how hide and seek would be able to last any shorter than an hour. Because the house was a castle. And to a 12 year old girl who had never truly known a home, a castle was exactly what she needed. 

“This is your home, Rey. Do you like it?” The lady asked. Rey truly wasn’t used to American accents. Her parents lived in London when they died and she went through foster homes all over England and to be in America, was very different for her. 

Rey didn’t bother answering the woman because she was mostly scared that the lady would hear her voice and realize she was different. She hadn’t spoke a word in the car the whole ride and she wasn’t ready to start now. Now that she had seen the enormous home that was now hers, she didn’t want to do anything to mess It up. And she just knew that once the lady heard that she wasn’t American too, she would realize It was a mistake and send her back the the agency. 

“Rey?” The lady prompted. Rey whipped her head back around to the lady and nodded quickly. The woman’s face warmed at Rey and turned into a relieved smile. “I’m glad. I’m so relieved you’re here now. We have been trying to get you here since the day your parents...” the lady quickly cut herself off and fluttered her eyes nervously. Rey stared blankly at the woman confused as to why the woman didn’t want to speak of her parents death. A lot worse things had happened since her parents died, that was the least of her sorrows. But Rey still didn’t want to speak yet, so she decided to let the woman fumble around with her words and went back to studying her surroundings until she heard footsteps coming from the stairs behind her and glanced quickly that way. It was another woman who seemed much older than the main lady who brought her to this house. 

 

“Ah! Maz!” The main lady exclaimed. She quickly walked up behind Rey and gently guided Rey towards the elderly woman walking down the stairs. “This is our young Rey! She’s finally with us. After all this time.” The lady gushed but quickly regained herself and placed herself back on task. “Rey, this is Maz, she’s our head of house. She is in charge of meals, and house keeping and all of that. But she mostly delegates to the others what she wants to be done really. You’ll be spending a lot of time with her. She is going to take care of you and get you settled into your life here.” The woman behind her leaned down to speak closer to her face but Rey kept her gaze on the elder woman in front of her. She had a lot of wrinkles and reminded Rey of the only foster parent she liked in the past 10 years. But that woman had died. 

“Hello Rey, very very nice to finally meet you.” Rey felt a small amount of relief because someone didn’t have an American accent, but she knew that Maz’s accent wasn’t English either so It only helped a little. “We have been waiting a while to meet you. Especially Leia and Han, they have worried about you very much.” Maz gestured to the woman behind Rey and then Rey remembered. Her name was Leia. She had heard the name at the agency but was too busy staring at the woman to remember her name or anything else they said, for that matter. 

“Yes indeed, we have. But Maz, would you mind showing Rey to her room? I’m going to go find Han and tell him she’s here.” Rey felt Leia pat her head as she walked away and turned her head to follow in the direction of her footsteps. And then Rey looked back at Maz to see her staring back at her. They stared at each other for nigh of 30 seconds before Maz finally let a smile crack. 

“Let’s go, young one.” Maz said and grabbed Rey’s hand and guided her up the stairs. Rey thought that Maz had to be close to 80, and she had no idea how the woman was walking up the stairs. Maz led her through the hallway at the top of the stairs and to a room almost at the end of the hallway. They stood before 2 tall, skinny, french doors that apparently opened up into Rey’s room and she was terrified. She knew that she was to have the worst room in the house because why would these rich, nice people give her anything? They don’t owe her a nice room. And so she expected to have a room full of dust, and boxes and trash. Her fear turned into rage and felt herself reliving every single time she realized the people she moved in with were just as bad as the last and they didn’t care for her and didn’t love her. 

Maz crouched beside Rey, feeling the child’s body go rigid. “What’s wrong young one?” Rey gave one defiant shake of her head and kept her gaze straight ahead. Max yanked the young girl’s arm. “Child. What is wrong? You can ignore and act mute to Leia and she might take It but I will not.” Maz’s caring tone suddenly turned to one full of authority and strength, yet still with compassion. Rey stared at the woman still not answering, and her anger seething over the top. “I do not need 2 moody teenagers in this house. I will not allow It.” Maz said more to herself than to Rey. 

“Well I’m not a teenager.” Rey mumbled under her breath. 

“Ah! She speaks!” Maz stood from her crouched position. “Now. Why were you you about to explode like a bomb? And why did you give Leia the silent treatment when she just opened up her home to you?” She paused. “And I expect an answer. I’m not going to just let you ignore me. So you best start speaking.” 

Rey ripped her hand from Maz’s grip and crossed her arms. “I don’t like It here.” 

“And why not?” Maz’s asked back, slightly baffled. 

“It’s too— nice. I don’t want to live here. They will not care about me.” Rey said, her voice only slightly trembling. 

Maz looked down at the extremely scared and lost girl and knew the girl would have a long way to go, but she wanted the girl to get there. So the old woman crouched down once again, gettin eye level with the 12 year old. “Rey look at me.” She paused until Rey finally looked directly at her. “There is no one on this planet who cares for you as much as Leia and Han. They have been spending a lot of money and time and effort for the past 12 years just to get you here. And they succeeded. I know you don’t know them, and you don’t know me. But I care for you too Rey. And I will always care. And always be here for you. I just need you to be honest with me and trust me. Can you do that?” Rey contemplated hard for a while until she weakly nodded at the woman. “Alright then. Let’s go see your special room.” 

As Rey walked into her room she couldn’t help her eyes widening, or her jaw dropping because that is how beautiful It really was. It was the most immaculate princess room. And not the kind of princess room with pink and purple walls and a purple canopy with pink butterflies and signs that say princess all around the room. But the kind that you would find in Buckingham Palace. The walls were all stark white, which meant a lot to Rey because she had never had anything white in her life. Foster kids don’t get white things. And everything was trimmed in gold. Whether is was fake gold or not, it didn’t truly matter to Rey because she was too caught up in the overwhelming beauty of the room. And It was huge. She ran towards the back side of the room to where another set of french doors were that led to a balcony. In all honesty, Rey had never actually been on a balcony, and she never truly thought she ever would. She flung the doors open to the balcony and ran out to see how large It was, and if It was everything she dreamed it would be. And It was indeed. 

“They told me America does not have a Queen but be honest, is she the queen?” Rey asked Maz with her voice full of awe. 

Maz laughed fondly at the girl. “No. She is the Governor of our state and he is a lawyer. Together they make a living for themselves.” 

Rey looked over the bar of her very own balcony and stared at the very large pool that lay on the ground beneath it. She turned sharply back to her room and then began to scrutinize. “Is this what all their rooms look like?” 

“Oh dear goodness no. They do have a son after all.” Rey look over at that. Earlier Maz had said something about a teenager and Rey had pieced together that maybe Leia’s son caused Maz some trouble, which intrigued Rey. “No, they decorated this room just for you. They did it almost 13 years ago. Right after your parents passing and just constantly had It ready for you to come home anytime.” Maz looked over at Rey again with a sweet and knowing smile. Rey resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the old woman. Rey had a hard time believing these people cared for her so much. 

The door to the bedroom was flung open and a middle aged man with salt and pepper hair ran through the door and swept the child off her feet. “Rey! I’m so glad you’re finally here.” The man said. He spun her around once and when he had her to where Rey was facing the door to her new room she saw Leia standing at the entrance her arms crossed and a small smile on her face as she fondly watched the scene in front of her. 

Rey didn’t attempt to touch or wrap her hands around the man in any way and when he finally let her down she took a small step back towards Maz and away from him. She looked up at him through her eyelashes and brows slightly furrowed. She assumed the guy was Han but she didn’t understand why the guy seemed so excited to see her as thought they were long time friends but she had never met the man in her life. 

“She hasn’t said a word since she arrived, Han.” Leia said in a whisper behind him but Rey still heard what she had said and quickly glanced behind her to Maz, and saw that Maz wasn’t going to say anything and felt a slight sense of relief. 

“Well, why not? Is something wrong?” By this point the man had completely turned his back on her and focused on Leia. 

“I have no idea. Maybe she’s just scared. I’m sure she will adapt and be fine. It will be okay.” She whispered back. She looked over at Rey and Maz and then smiled slightly. “I’m going to go talk to Ben. You guys get to know each other and I’ll be back.” 

Rey watch as Leia walked away from the door and to the left, opposite from the direction of the stairs. And there was only 2 doors to the left of her room and Rey suspected that meant one of them was the room of the moody teenager who bothered Maz. She slowly tore her eyes from the empty spot and back to the face of the man standing in front of her expectantly. When he saw she was giving him her attention for the moment he quickly walked up to her and crouched to eye level. 

“Hey kid. I’m Han.” He stuck his hand out towards her to shake. She looked at his hand for a moment debating whether or not to shake It and finally decided to give the man what he wanted. She shook his hand and that made him have a huge smile. “I remember when you were born, you know?” He said, and Rey’s face immediately scrunched in surprise. “Really! I was there I promise.” He lifted one hand to the sky and the other he used to make an X in front of his heart. Which made he smile just a bit. And maybe Han thought that that meant a small victory so his grin grew even larger before he continued. “You were much smaller then. But either way, I’m glad you’re finally here. I have some work to do but I will see you at dinner. I believe Maz is planning something special for you.” He looked at Maz and pointed and then looked back at Rey and winked. And then he was gone. 

“You are going to have to speak to them eventually, you know?” Maz said. 

Rey looked back at her blandly and then shrugged. Not as long as she wanted to live here she thought. 

“I’m not joking, Rey. You will speak to them. Tonight.” Maz said grabbing the girl’s arm to turn Rey towards her.

“And why is that?” Rey glowered at the woman. 

“Because they are good people and they care for you and they would be heartbroken if you didn’t.” Maz said flippantly, as though It is a known fact. 

“Well I don’t want to. I don’t want them to know in British.” Rey admitted, thinking that maybe is would get Maz on her side if she knew the truth. 

“And why is that?” Maz asked, repeating Rey’s words back to her. 

Rey stared at her for a moment before striding into the area which she saw was the bathroom, earlier, and closed he door behind her. She took a moment to gain herself and took in her surroundings again. The bathroom was very large with 2 sinks, large vanity and a shower as big as he last room. But then she saw another door on the opposite wall from hers. And she slowly walked up to the door and tried the handle to find that It opened very easily. She looked in to find a room the same large size of hers but with dark colored walls, and clothes everywhere. She slowly walked in until she saw that there was another balcony on the side of the house, unlike hers which was facing the back, and the doors were wide open and someone was standing out on the balcony.... smoking. Rey tried to keep quiet as she tip toed as close the balcony as she could get without being too far away from the door that led to their joint bathroom. She looked and saw a tall guy with long black hair that hung to the bottom of the back of his neck. He was wearing black jeans, and a black T-shirt that had the sleeves taken off. The smoke wafted in from the open door and Rey attempted not to cough at the smell. Rey had never been around smoke before so this was very new and she already didn’t like it. But as if he could hear her lungs screaming, he drops the cigarette and slowly begins to turn around. 

“You need to get out. Now.” He said to Rey. And by now, Rey has decided that this is Ben, the moody teenager. And Rey is not happy. “Are you deaf? I said leave.” Ben practically growls. 

Rey stared indignantly at the older boy and widened her feet a little bit as if ready for a fight. “Piss off.” She spoke. 

But that didn’t fase him. He didn’t seem to care that she spoke and she hadn’t spoke to his parents, or he didn’t know. And he stood rigidly at the door way of his balcony staring at her as she strode out of his room and back into the bathroom they shared. She was seething in anger again and locked his bathroom door from the inside, for good measure.


	2. Semi- Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically just Rey and Ben arguing and then actually physically fighting. wooOow. Rollercoaster.

Chapter 2 

Rey was already not pleased when she arrived at the dinner table, and when she realized she was going to have to sit directly across the nuisance that was the raggedy smoking boy from next door... she was thoroughly pissed off. 

Rey actually remembers saying that word to her social worker, in the airport, after she’d realized that Americans were pompous asses and her social worker told her that “Pissed” is not a term used by High standing adults in America and she needed to watch her tongue. Rey didn’t know all the other cuss words quite yet but she was planning on learning which ones she was allowed to say around Americans. But she silently agreed with herself as she sat down in her seat, that if bugger was not an accepted word then America truly wasn’t the place for her. 

“Rey, I’m so pleased that you are here to join us,” Leia said, and she sat to the right of Rey at the end of the table. Rey was fully prepared to blow her off of say nothing again, especially since Rey was not. She was not pleased. Because she had to sit across from the smoker. But her irrational irritation was cut off when Maz lightly cleared her throat from the side of the room. And Rey cut her eyes over the where the woman was. Maz slowly pricked one eyebrow up in scrutiny as if telling the girl “You. Will. Speak.” Rey scowled at the woman with her eyes but finally took a breath to speak to the weird Americans. 

“Thank you. Me too.” Rey pushed out through her teeth. And Rey was too preoccupied keeping her gaze on Maz that she missed the excited look that Leia and Han gave each other. But... Rey only felt mild rage as she mulled over the possibility of being sent home immediately. 

“You have a beautiful voice.” Leia gushed at her. Rey quickly looked over at the woman in extreme confusion, because not only was that something she’s never been told, but she thought It was just plum weird that It was said in the first place. Rey caught herself and stilled her face before her lip drew up in disdain and her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. But she continued to stare at the woman because what do you even say to that? But after a good chunk of time, she heard Maz’s throat clear again so she quickly spit out a “Thank you.” 

“Well, I’ve planned a special meal for your arrival Rey. I do hope you’ll enjoy it.” Maz spoke as she walked around the dining room and opened the door to the kitchen where 2 women flowed out with two bowls in each hand. And when Rey saw the plate she couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Fish and chips. She had never been so excited to see something familiar in her life. And even once she began to eat, the food made her feel 1000 times better. 

“Rey, we want you to get settled in but In a few days, you’re going to begin to go to school. You’re actually going to go to the same school as Ben! But just different classes. I believe they are going to have you go into the 8th grade. Ben is in the 12th grade so you won’t be seeing too much of him but he will be there if you need him for anything!” Leia took a small drink from her water after she spoke and then sat her drink down and spoke again. “But! I’m sure you will make plenty of friends! I know there are quite a few international students there, so you should fit in quite well I’m sure. Do you like to do anything specific? Instruments? Sports? Anything like that?” 

“I liked to do kickboxing, back in London.” Rey side while eating as much as she could. 

“Really? Well, I don’t know if that’s a school sport but we will find someplace so that you can do that! Anything else?” Leia let her smile float over her face. 

“She could go with Ben.” Maz interjected. 

“No!” Rey and Ben said at the same time. There was no way either of them was going anywhere with one another. 

“He goes to a gym, I believe they have plenty of boxing bags there.” Maz said again ignoring both of them. 

“No, there is no way I’m taking her to my gym, that would be completely un-okay.” Ben said at the same time as Rey said, “I am not going anywhere with that idiot bugger!” Said is not the right word but their voices quickly escalated to a yell. 

The adults all looked at the two in blatant surprise as in their eyes, the two had just met each other, and there was no reason for the hostility in the room. 

“You’re a monster.” Rey seethed. 

“I’m the monster??? HA! You barged into my room and started saying all kind of crazy stuff to me.” He yelled. 

“I said nothing! You are the one who began to yell at me for no reason and tell me I had to get out you wanker.” Rey stood from her seat and growled with her face scrunched. 

“You came into my room without permission and then locked my door to my bathroom so I couldn’t get in.” He said mostly to the room as if telling them how the story went. Han and Leia looked at the situation in confusion and terror. They had no idea how to help them. And Maz was behind Rey attempting to pull her from the table. But Rey was trying to latch on to the table so that she wasn’t going anywhere. 

“Rey... Ummm honey why don’t you go with Maz? I think that dinner is done for now.” Leia said cautiously. 

“And Ben I’m going to need to talk to you in my office.” Han said grimly as he walked out of the dining room. 

 

Rey held eye contact with Ben for a while before she finally let go of the table and backed up to go with Maz. 

 

•—————•

“Child, you cannot go around yelling in this house. I simply won’t allow It.” Maz scolded as she sat down on Rey’s bed. Rey had run into her room and plopped down on her bed and screamed and kicked her feet and until finally, she got all of her anger out. “This is your home and Ben is your family now. You never have to think of him as your brother but he is your family. And so are Leia and Han and you don’t want them to think you’re ungrateful for all they have done for you. Do you?”

 

Rey stiffly shook her head. And though her face was buried into her pillow, she could see the tight look on Maz’s face in her head. They both sat in silence for almost 5 minutes before Rey broke their silence. “He’s an ass.” 

Maz laughed. “Yes. He is that. But you need to have enough respect for Leia and Han not to ruin every family dinner. It’s not really their fault that their son is like that.”

Rey sat up quickly and looked over at Maz in confusion. “Who’s fault is it then?” 

Maz sighed and looked up into the sky. “Ah, no ones but his own, I suppose.” Max shrugged. “He wasn’t always like that but in the past year he got a little...” She paused. “Moody. Angry.” 

“That doesn’t make sense. Why is he angry? Doesn’t seem like he has much to be angry about.” Rey grumbled. 

“I suppose it could be his uncle. He died while in the Car with Ben a year ago. And Ben was pretty close with Luke.” Maz’s face was deep in concentration as she actually was thinking about this on her own for the first time. “That’s his uncle. They were very close. And I think Ben took his death pretty hard. And the fact that Ben was in the car with him when they died probably made it even harder.” She shrugged again. “Doesn’t exactly give him a right to yell at you like he did, but you also need to lighten up on him. He’s just a lost teenager.” 

Rey rolled her eyes and plopped back down on the bed. “That’s pathetic.” Rey said indignantly. 

Maz patted her head and the stood up. “Well then. I guess I will leave you to it. Goodnight and I’ll see you in the morning.” But when Maz opened the door there stood Ben Solo. “Ah. Ben. How can I help you?” She smiled at him. 

Ben stared through the door with his arms crossed. “Can I speak to her?” Ben butted his chin out. 

“Are you two going to yell at each other again?” Maz asked. 

“I’m not allowed.” Ben said blandly through his teeth. 

“Well good. See you both in the morning.” Maz said as she shuffled out of the room. But Ben didn’t step in the room. He continued to just stare at her through the door for a while before he took one small step inside. 

“I’ve come to apologize.” He said. 

“So do it.” She mumbled, face still pressed into her pillow. She was met with only silence. And she tried to tilt her head to see what he was doing and saw him opening the closet. “What are you doing?” She asked and sat up quickly on the bed. She hadn’t bothered to even look in the closet so when he opened the door and she saw more clothes in there than she ever had in her life she literally freaked out. She jumped off the bed and pushed him out of the way and ran into the huge closet, full of clothes. “Oh my God!” She exclaimed. “Did they buy all these clothes for me?” She turned to him and realized she didn’t mean to ask so she just ran into the closet and started looking through. 

“I didn’t come here for a fashion show.” Ben said as he leaned against the door frame. She stopped and looked over at him. 

“Then what did you come for? To apologize? Because you have said that’s what you’re here for but I’m not hearing you apologize.” Rey said with a slight attitude. But he just continued to stare at her for in silence. 

“Why did you not speak to my parents all day? But you’ll speak to me?” He asked after a long pause. 

“I spoke to your mother at the dinner table.” She stated. 

“But before. Why didn’t you speak to them and you spoke to me in my room, earlier?” He persisted. 

“How do you know that?” 

“They told me. Said you hadn’t said a word all morning. I figured Maz pushed you into it but I doubt she pushed you into talking to me.” He said, finally taking his harsh gaze off of her to look down at his feet. 

“What’s it to do with you?” She practically growled. 

He shrugged back. “Nothing. Just curious.” He paused. “I brought you a peace offering.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. “Here. This is for you. To make peace.” He handed it to her quickly. 

“D’they make you do this?” She jutted her chin in the direction on the stairs. 

He gave her a half smirk. “So? I’m here trying to make peace. I’m sorry I told you to get out of my room. But I’m not used to little girls running around everywhere.” 

“Well, I’m not a little girl.” She said, annoyed. 

He laughed. “How old are you then?” 

“Almost 13.” She scowled. 

“Ah. Trust me. You’re a little girl.” He scoffed.

“Argh!” Rey yelled in frustration at him. 

Ben ran up to her and grabbed her arm. “Hey, Hey! Calm down. If they hear us yelling we’ll be in for it.” 

Rey yanked her arm back. “You’re the worst.” She walked out of the closet and back into her room. He followed behind her cautiously. 

“Well, seeing as you hate me, I suppose that means you don’t want to go to the gym with me tomorrow and get out of here.” He said very deadpanned. 

She narrowed her eyes at him and started to think over his offer. “Are you going to give me this chocolate again?” He nodded. “And they are going to leave us alone if we do this?” He nodded again. “And are you going to leave me alone once we get there? And not bother me?” He nodded again and smiled only a little before it dropped and he did one more curt nod before he started walking towards the door.

“I’ll be here first thing in the morning. 6 am. Don’t sleep in because I won’t wake you.” He said one last thing before he turned to leave. 

 

•—————•

 

Rey was sitting outside her room 15 minutes before Ben even walked out of his room. But the jet lag was insane and she was unable to sleep. She had taken a long hot shower, completely gone through every piece of clothing in her closet until she found the outfit she wanted to go to the gym in. Back in England, one of her foster parents had a gym where she would take kickboxing classes from different people who showed up there. So in the 15 minutes while she waited she recanted the times in Unkar’s gym and how much she hated the man. Unkar was a drunk, and an angry drunk at that. And he had the bad habit of taking his anger out on her, so yes, she learned to fight young. When she was 7 the first time he hit her so she decided to begin to train and fight any person who would walk into the gym and be willing to help. By the time Ben walked up to her, she was angry and ready to fight. 

“Why do you look like you’ve been sitting here for the past 30 minutes?” Ben asked as he walked past her towards the stairs.

“Because I almost have. You’re late.” She said flippantly.

“No, you’re early.” Ben said with a laugh. And that was the last thing they said to each other until they got to the gym. And even when they arrived, they went their separate ways. Rey pulled her gloves from the only bag she brought from England. The bag had very few things from her old life and the gloves were one of them. She wrapped her hands with them as she approached the punching bag, she stretched a little and then began doing her learned combination into the bag. She pictured the face of every foster parent who treat her wrong on the bad and pummeled it. She tried to remember every single thing she was taught and put all her energy into punching the bag. She was almost 13 but she pictured she was a grown woman who was competing in different boxing matches and winning. She was so focused that she didn’t realize a half hour had gone by and she still continued. Some of the guys in the gym began to gather around her and observe what she was doing in awe. 

They had never seen anyone that young do anything that impressive. So when the person Kylo was sparring with called for a break and went to go to the punching bags, he was very confused. He followed behind, loosening his gloves while he walked. The girl had attracted a crowd of 8 men from the gym and even Ben had to admit that she was impressive. She had fire and power behind her hits. For the first time, he had wondered where this young girl had learned to do all this because it seemed like she knew what she was doing… mostly. 

His sparring partner leaned over and whispered. “She’s really good. You know who she is? I’d like to work with her sometime.” Ben didn’t bother answering him and walked straight to the other side of the bag to hold it still. She continued her assault. 

“I thought I told you to leave me alone while we are here?” She said through gritted teeth, but she never looked up to acknowledge him and she never stopped punching.

“Thought I’d lend a hand. Maybe show you a few pointers.” He responded.

She hit harder with each word she said. “Don’t need pointers.” 

He tried not to roll his eyes. “Just thought you could practice on someone real. Instead of a bag.” 

She stopped her onslaught with one final, hard punch. She looked at him. “You have mitts?” 

He nodded and led her to the sparring area and grabbed his punch mitts. “You ready for this, little girl?” 

“First rule.” She punched at his hand. “Don’t talk to me.” Again. “We need to keep that rule intact.” She began to give her onslaught to his hands and he put them in front of her face. And after a few minutes, she began to put them low sometimes for her to kick and she did with mostly decent fluidity. She would get tripped over her own feet sometimes but for the most part, she hit it every single time. Rey and Ben worked for almost an hour before Ben decided to call it quits. As soon as he turned around to go pack his stuff in his bag, Rey was flocked by quite a few people from the gym. All asking her name and where she was from and where she learned all of this stuff. 

Ben waited a few minutes before he caught her eye and signaled that he was leaving and she better be heading with him too. Rey quickly jumped into action and told them all she would see them next time and ran after Ben. When she got into the car she felt much calmer than what she did on the drive there. So much so that she almost spoke to Ben. Almost. 

But he was the one to break the silence. 

“Where did you learn to do all that?” 

“One of my foster people owned a gym like that. So some of the members would help out with learning and sparring.” She answered while looking out the window. 

“Why did you even want to learn? I thought little girls just wanted to play with dolls and stuff.” Ben had no idea what little girls did other than what he had seen in movies on tv shows so he just said the first thing that came to mind. 

“Just a way to get my anger out.” Rey didn’t feel like going down the road of her past life. The memories were not exactly the most pleasant and she just got all of her anger out. She didn’t want to dredge it all back out. “I’ve been with you for hours and you haven’t even smoked. Surprise.”  
She said with intense sarcasm. 

“I only smoke when I’m feeling particularly pissed off. Which isn’t every day.” There was slight humor in his voice as he said it, and he found himself surprised to actually find this little girl entertaining. “Well anyways, I go to the gym almost every morning so if you would like to go with me, just be ready.” She nodded at him and his words and opened her mouth like she was going to say something but he cut her off. “And you should let me train you. I know you have it in your mind you don’t want to speak to me at the gym but what if after you go on your own at the bags then you can come and train with me for the rest? You need a teacher.” Ben said while keeping his eye on the road. 

She was silent for a while. Not entirely sure if she was okay with his proposal since they were screaming at each other just yesterday, but…. “Okay.” She conceded. “But let’s keep the talking to a minimum while we’re in there.” Ben just nodded and kept driving. And they stayed silent for the rest of the ride. But Rey kind of started thinking that Ben wasn’t so bad. He might be a smoker(apparently only sometimes) and a moody teenager, as Maz called him, but Rey at least was pleased by the fact that he didn’t pressure her into speaking and he enjoyed kickboxing as much as she did. So for now, she thought that they could be semi-friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I'm sure that some think that these first few chapters are kind of slow, but I really want to lay the proper groundwork for the story. Yes, it will be a romance eventually. But right now I want to focus on Rey in the beginning and how she adapts and how she and Ben get together.
> 
> Also! I'm trying to update fast but your feedback really keeps me going on pushing out chapters! I love where I know this book is going but I just gotta get there! haha
> 
> And I'm thinking of writing Finn with John's actual accent. What do you guys think of that?? 
> 
> Let me know!


	3. Old Ben Kenobi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey starts school and finds out more about her family from Leia and Han.

Chapter 3

As the days went by Rey became more and more comfortable in her new home. She spent a decent amount of time going shopping with Leia for school and she watched a movie or two with Han and she spent every morning at the gym with Ben. And Maz was as interfering as ever. But she did feel comfortable. She was able to hold an actual conversation and she had bonded with all of them. Ben, not so much as the others, but they had gone 2 days straight without yelling at each other, although they did break it, they are back on track now and almost to 3 days this time. They have mellowed out. And she loves it there. As much as she hates to admit it, she loves her new family. She feels closer to Leia, Maz, Han and even a little bit Ben than she had anyone else ever in her life. And she has even had fun with them. They had a game night where all of them played board games and laughed and got to know each other better, and even after her arguing match with Ben, they still had fun and it was the most fun she’d ever had. 

But it was time to start school. And Rey felt major apprehension on going to her first day of school. She had no desire to leave the comfort of her new found home and family but as she and Ben drove to school, she realized that there was no other option. Leia had explained how the school was a private school and that while she and Ben would both be at the same school, the building is huge and they might never run into one another. But that if Rey needed something, then she could call Ben. And they gave her a phone as an early birthday present. But that didn’t help Rey’s nerves. 

“Are you nervous or something? You haven’t said a word.” Ben asked while he drove the busy streets of Columbus. 

Rey thought on the question. “Never had the best time at schools in England.” She continued to stare out the window and the city passing her and try not to think about how terrified she was to try and make friends again. 

“Well, I have a feeling that this school will be much better for you.” Ben said as they pulled into the school parking lot. 

Rey looked up at the huge grey building. It was pretty, not as pretty as their house but it was beautiful and there was plenty of grass and flowers. And now she was thankful for the uniform. At least it let her know she wouldn’t be over or underdressed, she would look just like everyone else. She slowly got out of Ben’s car to gaze upon the monstrosity in a better position. 

“Let’s go. I gotta get you to the office before class starts.” Ben prompted her. She scurried along behind him and he walked up the stairs and into the building. There were students everywhere but she tried to keep up with Ben as best she could. He finally started slowing down and opened a door for her and motioned her inside. 

“Mrs. Bryte, this is Rey, here for her schedule.” Ben motioned to her with his elbow because both of his hand were hanging on to his backpack straps. “And I gotta go.” Ben backed up, gave Rey a small wave and was out the door before she could even blink. She would get him later for that, Rey promised herself.

“Oh! Miss. Kenobi.” That was the first time Rey had heard her last name in years. And it was a little strange. Since she never knew the parents who gave it to her, then it never felt quite right to use it. “Come here child, I have your papers right here.” Rey walked up to the woman at her beckon and picked up the papers from her hands. “Your first class is actually just next door. But the rest there are room numbers and hopefully you can find your way to your class. If not, just come right on back here and I’ll help you out!” The woman smiled at her. “Have a good first day!”

Rey walked to the room next door and slowly looked around for a seat. “Are you Rey?” Someone interrupted her thoughts. She looked and saw a woman who looked to be only 25 standing right in front of her. 

Rey nodded. 

“Perfect! Well, I’m Ms.Adams, and there’s a seat right over there for you! Hopefully, you can make some friends.” Rey eerily looked over to where the teacher pointed and headed that way. 

Rey couldn’t even sit down before an Asian girl who sat in front over her turned around to greet her. “Hi! I’m Rose. What’s your name? You’re really pretty.” The girl sped through her words. Rey’s eyebrows shot up in shock at the girl's exuberance. 

“Um, thank you. And my name is Rey.” She said, slightly concerned that this girl was too excited. 

“Aww, that’s awesome!!” She took a quick breath. “Finn! Look this is Rey. She’s British too.” The girl squealed. 

Rey’s eyes widened in excitement. “You’re English?” She exclaimed at the boy who sat to the front and left of her. He was turned to face her now and nodding hastily. 

“Yeah! Haven’t lived there in years but that’s where I was born. Apparently you too by the sound of it.” The boy, Finn apparently, spoke back to her. Rey had never felt so relieved in her life. Oh thank God, she thought. A Brit. It was a miracle from heaven for sure. And even as the day went on, Rey found it to be more and more of a miracle. The 3 of them ate lunch together and she only had 1 class that wasn’t with at least 1 of them. She exchanged numbers with them on the phone Leia had given her the day before and the three of them promised to plan to hang out soon. So Rey was on cloud 9 when she finally reached Ben’s car, but it seemed he was not. She got in the car and he was looking through the windshield in extreme anger and gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white. As soon as she was buckled in he threw the car into reversed and practically bolted out of the parking lot. 

“Ben?” She asked cautiously. But she was only met with silence. “Ben? What’s wrong?” She pressed again. And again he was silent to her but he wrung his hands around the steering wheel and cursed. Her eyes widened because she had never heard Ben use that extreme of cussing before and this may have been the angriest she had seen him so far. After a few minutes, he whipped his car jerkily into the parking lot of the gym where they go every morning. He grabbed his bag from the trunk and stalked inside. Rey got out of the vehicle and followed him in, cautiously, still not knowing what was going on. Even though Rey did happen to have put her gloves in her school backpack this morning, she didn’t head towards the bags. She followed Ben exactly where he went and observed his actions on high alert. 

Rey watched as Ben unbuttoned his white uniform shirt and shrug it off and then begin to wrap his hand with his gloves. He went straight into the square sparring arena where his regular sparring partner was standing talking to someone else. 

 

“Come on!” Ben yelled after he got set. The guy turned around slowly a little confused. 

“Ben, you’re still in your khakis and you seem angry so maybe now isn’t the best time.” The guy answer warily. 

“Fuckin now Jerry! I didn’t ask for your damn advice.” Ben growled. And Jerry, his regular sparring partner, sighed but then got in position to start their round. Rey sat on the bench, her backpack still on her back, and waited for the fight to start. It didn’t take long before Ben sprung into action. His first move with a jab which he countered with a left hook and a shin kick, all before the guy really started to get going and he barely had a chance to dodge. Ben did not relent. After the few days that Rey had lived there, she had never actually watched Ben fight, and it was surprising to her. She was enthralled with every move of his body, and every lunge, he looked as if he was a professional, at least to her 12-year-old eyes. Ben had officially got the upper hand as he had thrown the other man off balance and then threw one last punch with a grunt of pent-up emotions and the guy was on the ground. Ben didn’t bother to go by and check on him. He simply jumped down from the mats and headed towards her, where his bag was. Ben undid his gloves as he walked and didn’t even bother to put his shirt on before he was walking out the door again. He didn’t seem to be fully relieved, but at least he wasn’t as on edge as he had been earlier. 

“Why didn’t we stay longer? We were barely there for 10 minutes.” Rey said as she settled into the car and put her seatbelt on. 

“I can’t hold you too long otherwise Mom will piss herself.” 

Rey silently understood and did a slight nod. After a few moments of silence, Rey asked, “What happened? Why were you mad?” 

His shoulder tensed. “I got into it with someone at school.” 

“Like an actual fight? At school?” She was shocked. 

“No. But it almost turned into one. So I need to let off some steam.” He shrugged. “Here is the only place I can do that. Since you hate me smoking.” His tone lightened into a joke. 

“That’s true. It’s bad for you, you know?” 

He rolled his eyes but a small smile broke through. “Come on, little girl. Give me a break. I have to do something bad for my health. I’m 18 years old.” 

“Umm, reckless driving, that fight you probably just had, the fight that you almost got into. I’m pretty sure you drink, and I bet that climbing on the roof in the middle of the night isn’t ‘safe’.” She teased. 

“What? How do you know I go on the roof? I’ve never told you that.” 

She shrugged. “I went to check for you in your room, saw your balcony door open and your foot hanging off the top.” 

“What the hell? I thought we talked about privacy? And MY room. You can’t just walk into my room, Rey!” He scolded. 

She decided that it probably wasn’t a good time to start arguing with him again so she turned her head and looked out the window in silence for the rest of the ride. As the got home, they went their separate ways. Ben headed to his room. And Rey headed straight to Maz. She didn’t know if Leia or Han were home so she went to the one person she thought would be excited about her day, not like Ben, who hadn’t even asked her about her first day of school. Not that Rey cared. Because she didn’t really like the man-boy in the first place. 

“Hello, child. How was your first day of school? Did you make friends?” Maz greeted when Rey found her in the kitchen. 

“Good, and yes!” Rey gleamed. She was very excited to tell someone about her new friends and how she had actually enjoyed school for the first time in her life. 

“Tell me about your day and your friends.” 

“Well, I was nervous at first… but then I got into class and met 2 new friends. One girl is named…” she cut off at the sound of the kitchen door burst open and Leia running in. 

“Rey! Are you talking about your first day? Oh, I hope it was good.” Leia said and sat down next to Maz in front of her. 

“Yes, I was saying that I met a girl named Rose and she is very sweet and exciting and fun. And also I met a boy named Finn, and he’s…. different. A little weird and scared but he’s brutish so I adore him.” She giggled. “We ate lunch together.. and they introduced me to some of their other friends and we all exchanged numbers. Honestly, it was amazing. I’ve never liked school so much. And I really do enjoy my classes.” 

“Did you see Ben at all during the day?” Leia asked. Rey immediately went to Ben at the end of the day angry and him taking her to the gym for that very quick fight. 

“Nope.” 

 

“Well, I’m so relieved you had a good day Rey. We will have ice cream to celebrate tonight, after dinner.” Leia patted her hand. ‘Your Mom used to say that ‘a spot of ice cream a day keeps the good days coming’.” Her face dropped a little in sadness. “I wish you had known them. They were amazing people. You remind me so much of them like your eyes are just like your father’s. But your hair is just like your mother’s. I miss them so much. Your mother was my very best friend when I was a child and as we grew older our love for each other never faded. And when she moved to London I was heartbroken but I knew she loved Ben.” Leia laughed. “My brother and I used to tease him and call him ‘Old Ben’ because he was a homebody. He tried to tell us that he used to be some big hot shot back in the day. He played soccer or something I think. But yeah, Old Ben was someone special, and so was Lucinda. They loved each other so very much and they loved you.” Leia had a small, sad smile on her face as she told Rey more about her parents then she had ever heard of them in her life. She actually hadn’t even really heard her parents' names before. 

“You— you named Ben after my father?” Rey asked hesitantly. 

Leia nodded. “Ben Kenobi. He might have been a homebody but he took care of us, he helped our family so much, and when I was pregnant with Ben, he was actually the one who took me to the hospital when I had almost lost the baby. He cared for us even if he didn’t always seem like it. And he fought every day for his wife and our family to have a good, normal life.” 

“Wow. I— never actually knew his name.” 

“Well, now you do. I would love to tell you more about him, so anytime you have a question about him or your mom, you can ask me.” Leia smiled. “Well, why don’t you head upstairs and get out of your uniform. We’ll be having dinner soon.” 

As Rey walked upstairs to her room she thought about what Leia had said. Her father and mother seemed to have really loved Leia and Han and maybe even Ben. She hoped that they loved her that much too. She had never been told stories about her family or her parents before. When she was a baby she went to 5 different foster homes from 1-3 and then from 3-6 she stayed with an older woman who was very sweet but then she died and Rey went to into a girls home type thing but then from 6-12she was with Unkar. He was a devious, and disgusting man who knew nothing about her or her family, just like everyone else she had been with. And she never actually thought to ask. 

After dinner and ice cream Ben has disappeared. He had dismissed himself as soon as he was done eating but Rey stayed to hear more stories about her parents. Han spoke of the time that her father had saved his ass and Leia’s brother’s ass from certain death when they got into an argument with the wrong crowd at a baseball game. Leia told the story of how Lucinda had dated her brother before she got with Ben and they were awful for each other so after 2 dates they broke it off but stayed they best of friends. Story after story made Rey feel like she knew the long lost people who she had never met but wanted to oh so dearly. 

“Rey, I know this may not be the best time, but we are in the process of trying to actually adopt you so that you can be here forever. But we wanted to ask you first.” Leia paused. “Is that something you are okay with? Is it okay if we adopt you? We don’t want to force you into anything but— we love you so much already Rey. You already feel like our own daughter and we want it to stay that way so— would you like to be a part of our family?”

Rey felt her heart warm. No one had asked her that before. To be apart of their family. Rey contemplated for only a minute before she asked, “So, you would be like a father and mother to me?” 

“Yes, Rey. We would be your second parents.” This time it was Han who spoke with such sincerity. “And we would love that.” 

Rey smiled. “I would too.” At those words, Leia and Han seemed to get a little emotional. They hugged her and held her and spoke to each other about how happy they were that Rey’s parents' dream was finally coming true. Rey finally broke away and headed up to her room. She sat on the bed for a minute with a goofy smile on her face and she stalled. She had never just sat on her bed and smile before. Typically she sat on her bed, angry and trying to keep from punching anyone or she was crying. But this was the very first time she just sat on the bed in happiness. After she finally calmed down from her high she headed out to her balcony and climbed up the banister until she was on the roof where she walked over to Ben. 

He was startled by her presence. “What are you doing here? How did you know I was up here.” 

She shrugged. “When you left dinner you didn’t seem happy. This is usually where you go when you’re unhappy.” 

He eyed her skeptically. “How would you know that? Have you been stalking me?” 

“No, I hear you walking across the roof sometimes. And only on nights where you’re upset. Which is almost every night I suppose.” 

He relaxed a little. “How did you even get up here, little girl? You’re too little.” 

She scrunched her nose. “I’m not that little.” 

“To me you are.” 

“That’s because you’re a giant.” She giggled. His lips quirked a little bit but it never reached his eyes. He starred out at the stars and the landscape, his face tense with his saddening thoughts. Rey’s mood changed almost to fit his. “Why did you leave dinner?” Her voice barely above a whisper. 

He sighed. “I didn’t like the conversation.” 

“About my parents?” She squeaked.

He gave one small nod. “That and my uncle. I don’t really want to talk about them.” His voice began to get gravely. 

Rey had no idea what else to say so they sat there in silence. Neither of the making a sound other than their low breaths. They both starred out at the beautiful scenery in front of them, lost in their own thoughts. 

“You didn’t tell me how your first day of school went.” He states lowly. 

“You didn’t ask.” 

He let out a small chuckle after a moment. “Did you make friends?” 

She turned her gaze to him and narrowed her eyes. “Why do you care? I thought you didn’t like me.” 

“What made you think that?” His smirk was full-fledged now.

“Because you yell at me a lot and try to ignore me.”

He shrugged. “I don’t hate you. You remind me of your dad. And I miss him and your mom. And I feel bad for you.” 

She didn’t really know how to respond to that. She had never met her parents and she never really thought about if Ben knew them or not. He would have been really young but Rey didn’t even think about what he felt. Rey suddenly felt a little guilty for constantly judging him and not really knowing him very well. What if Ben was very close to her parents and they died and he lost them forever? That would be like her losing Han and Leia right now. She had never been this close with anyone in her life and she was not sure if she could handle them dying very easily. She already had so many of the people die in her life and she barely even knew them. She had no family and no real friends until she came to live with the Solo’s. 

She quickly stood up from her spot and steadied her eyes and face. “I’m sorry. I’m sure it must have been hard for you to lose them.” And then she walked off and jumped back onto her balcony, but not before she saw Ben’s shocked face out of the corner of her eye. 

That night Rey went to bed in peace for the first time in her whole life. She had Han and Leia and even Maz in her life. She already had some very good friends that she couldn’t wait to see the next day. And she even sorta had Ben. She still didn’t fully like him. But she understood him and he probably feels the same. She had more people than she ever had before in her life. She had a permanent home, a family, friends, food every day, a school, and she felt safe. She had never felt safe before but with her new life, she felt safer than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO
> 
> A lot going on in this chapter maybe even more than you notice. Basically setting up a lot for the rest of the story and the next chapter.  
> Ben has a lot of anger issues and as we see him wallowing in his, Rey is working through hers. The more Rey feels the love of the family around her, the more she becomes a happy kid, without all the anger and sadness. She is 10 so that causes her to be more resilient while Ben is a teenager set in his ways. 
> 
> Old Ben Kenobi >.> anybody catch the use of the name?
> 
> Really glad I made Finn British as he should be like I wanted to. They are important characters but they aren't as big of deal as the family, as this family dynamic is what the story is mostly based upon. So if you don't see as much of them as you want right away.... I'm sorry! 
> 
> There is going to be a time jump into the next chapter so be ready for that.
> 
> Let me know what you think! And if you would like to specifically learn more about something in Rey's life or see more scenes with her and a specific person. Thanks guys! <3


	4. Just the two of us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a chapter of Ben and Rey becoming friends

_10 months later_  

 

“Harder Rey.” Ben gruffly asserted. “I said harder.” This time he yelled. His right fist swung and Rey ducked the impact just in time popping back up and continuing her onslaught. “Harder.” He boomed.

“I am!” She shouted back. “Leave me the hell alone.” Every punch she tried to make harder and put as much effort into it as she possibly could. Finally, she tired of the situation and kicked him square in the stomach. He stumbled back and only looked slightly bemused.

He chuckled. “Okay, okay. What is your deal?” He walked back towards the middle of the ring where she was standing. “Is it because I’m leaving for school in the morning?” His voice full of knowing playfulness.

She began to slowly punch at the mitts again. “No.”

“Oh oh okay. So your lack of focus but extremely short temper has nothing to do with the fact that I decided to leave a little early for college?”

“I wouldn’t count 2 months as a little early.” Rey truly wasn’t mad that he was leaving early. She wouldn’t miss him. He was moody and arrogant and always told her what to do. But she would miss getting rides to school. And she would miss getting rides to the gym. She would have to ask Maz or Han now. And she didn’t feel like doing that. So she was more frustrated that Ben was leaving her with no one to drive her around. She and Ben had bonded over the last 10 months. They did a lot of stuff together and while Rey tried to pretend like she still didn’t like him, it was hard. Because it was like she finally had a brother. She’d never had one before and now that she had one, sorta, it made her sad that she might be losing that relationship. They still fought all the time but she decided she would even miss the arguing and fighting. Even though they butted heads, she had grown attached to him. And she tried so hard not to get attached but it happened anyway and now she was living out the repercussions.

His hands dropped. “Rey, I’m an hour away. I will be home even on some weekends. Don’t worry.” He had discarded him mitt and began to push a piece of her hair back with his newly naked hand.

Rey’s reflexes were agile and he hadn’t even been touching her for 2 seconds before she socked him as hard as she could in the lower stomach.

“Shit.” Ben hissed as he bent over slightly in pain. Rey’s giant grin covered her face and she strolled out of the ring, head held high.

When they got in the car later, Rey immediately felt like they weren’t going the right way home. Like there had been some sort of wrong turn. But Rey said nothing and continued to stare out the window in silence. She didn’t even look over at him when he pulled into her very favorite American breakfast chain restaurant. She felt the excitement swell inside of her and she tried to get out of the car as calmly as she could. This particular restaurant was famous for their pancakes and Rey loved them, especially their cupcake pancakes. But since Rey moved in with the Solo family 10 months ago, she has only been twice. Because the cook is always at the house and Leia being the governor can’t really go out to public places like this without a big commotion. People would constantly approach Leia and try to convince her of how to be a better governor and so on.

“Ben!” She squealed. “Are we really eating here?” She was almost jumping up and down.

His laugh was playful and loving. “Yes, little girl. I figured I’d take you where mom can’t on my last day.” He picked up the menu in front of him and placed it up so that she couldn’t fully see his face. But she already knew what she wanted so she just sat there, completely giddy, until the waitress came to take their order.

Once the waitress had gone, Ben turned his attention to her with a small smile on his face. Rey paused a little eerie. “Why are you in such a good mood? You never smile. Especially at me. Unless you’re laughing.”

“I’m just kinda excited to get out of the house.”

“Why? You have such great parents.”

“WE do have great parents.” Ben corrected. “You keep acting like they aren’t your parents. Did you forget your 13th birthday? Where they officially finished all the paperwork and you are officially adopted into the family?” He rolled his eyes. “And anyways, I’m mainly excited to be independent. Dad is always disappointed in me, and always wanting more from me and I just think I need some time away. I know he loves me and all... and I’m thankful that I at least have him in my life, but we’ve never been close. We fight all the time because half the time he’s a dick to me and I’m a dick back because I have his genes.” He smirked.

Her eyebrows contorted in confusion and skepticism but she stayed silent.

“And what do you know, Rey? You talk to Dad some but you avoid him too. And you don’t call either of our parents ‘mom’ or ‘dad’.”

She shrugged. “I do love them, and I’m very thankful to have them. But I’ve been here 10 months and it doesn’t quite seem like I know them very well. It’s still like I’m a guest sometimes and that they walk on pins and needles around me.”

“Ah. I bet that has to do with me. I’m sure things will change once I leave tomorrow.”

Rey nodded as if she completely understood. But by that time their food had arrived, Rey could no longer think about her odd relationship with Han and Leia. All she could think about was cupcake pancakes.

And all Ben could think about was leaving for college the next day. He was going to start a whole new chapter of his life. He was leaving early to begin practices for the Swim team at the university. He had swam a little bit all throughout his childhood but mainly focused on MMA but when a school offered him a spot on their swim team, he couldn’t resist. Every fiber of his being was resisting his swim team adventure idea but his wayward mind for some reason prevailed and thought it was the best option, most cost effective option. Not that money was that big of a deal to him, but Ben had decided a long time ago that as soon as he moved out he was taking nothing from his family. Not even money. He didn’t want to owe his parents a dime.

———

The drive home was full of jokes and laughs from the both of them. Time had helped them ease into a nice friendship that only time could do. The age difference, while noticeable, didn’t stop their friendship from growing. Ben found himself enjoying his gym times with Rey. And vice versa. Things were easy. So when Rey saw the driveway as they were about to pull in, she wasn’t confused by the slight drop in her stomach. That would be the last time they went to the gym together for a long while. And once again Rey felt so alone walking into that big, empty house.

She scuffled her feet along the grand entry way to get to the stairs before she bolted up to her room without a glance back. In Rey’s head, it was time to let Ben go. And the quickest way to do that was a clean cut. The next time she would see Ben would be in the morning, for a short and sweet goodbye, Rey decided.

She passed time in her room, texting in the phone with her friends, who were all attempting to make weekend hang out plans, which Rey was all for. If Ben was leaving the Rey had no problem skipping her work out a few days.

Rose

I’m thinking maybe we should ask them if we can have a sleepover

Finn

Only if it’s at Rey’s house. Her house is huge! And the monster will be gone. Right Rey?

 

Rey mulled over correcting him like she usually does when Finn calls been “monster” but this time she was peeved enough to let it go.

Rey

That sounds good to me. I’ll ask Maz. You guys ask your parents and tell me what they said.

And Rey went back to focusing on the book in her lap that she had badly read. She tried to focus on the words that filled the page but was distracted by the occasional sounds that came from the room next door, where Ben was. With every sound and every distractions she got more and more annoyed as if it was his fault that she couldn’t focus right now.

She let out an annoyed scream and threw her book at the wall across the room. Now she was just plain agitated. She was trying not to think of Ben leaving but her kept making sounds as he packed. It was beyond frustrating.

She then heard a faint rap against her door.

 

“Who is it?” She shouted.

 

“Uh— hey! It’s me. Can I come in?” The gruff voice came through.

 

She huffed again to herself. She can’t really focus on forgetting him if he comes and bothers her. But he doesn’t give her another moment to think it over before he’s slowly opening the door and peaking through. Once he realize that she’s just sitting on her bed he makes his way through the door way and towards her. As he walks his eyes immediately find the book she had thrown across the room in anger, as if he already knew it was there. She pursed her lips in agitation.

“What do you want, Ben?”

“I heard some commotion and I wanted to make sure you’re okay.” He scratched the back of his head.

“I’m fine.” She paused. “The book just wasn’t to my liking.” She heard him snicker just and bit and her eyes sliced over to him like daggers.

“Well,” He day down on the edge of her bed and looked at her, “look Rey.. I know that things— well things will be different but you have people here rooting for you. Mom and Dad, and Maz and your friends...” he trailed off. “You’ll be fine.”

“I’m don’t care that you’re leaving.” She lied through her teeth. “You were always going to leave. This isn’t a shock.” She tried to sound as flippant as possible.

Ben hung his head as he looked down at his lap and then look back up at her, trying to restrain and smile. “Come with me, Rey. I wanna take you somewhere.”

And Rey leapt into action. She grabbed her leather jacket and flew out the door with Ben hot on her tails. She could say all she wanted about not missing him but her asking him to come hang out one more time before he left... she couldn’t pass that up even if she wanted to. But she would pretend like she wanted to as best she could.

“Where are we going?” She asked before Ben could ever get settled in the car.

“You’ll see.” They drove the rest of the ride in silence until Ben pulled in to an old car lot. And as soon as Rey realized where they were she leaped out of the car.

“Oh my God. Ben, what are we doing here?” She said excitedly.

“Well kid, we’re gonna get you a race car.” And he looked over and winked at her. Rey could not contain her excitement. “I know you have a few years before you’re driving but I wanted to get you someone that you could work on. I worked on cars when I was your age to help calm me, I guess. When ever I felt overly pissed at the world, I would go into the garage and play some rock music and get my car to it’s top speed possible.” He paused, seemingly apprehensive of what to say next, “and that’s how I got into the racing scene.”

“I thought you used boxing to let off steam.” Rey narrowed her eyes.

“I do now, but before I worked on my car. “ he shrugged. “It’s done now so I don’t have anything to work on. I figured maybe it could do for you like it did for me.”

She looked at his car and then around at the lot. “So yours is a 76 mustang?”

He nodded.

“And you race it? That’s where you go on Saturday nights sometimes.”

He tilted his head in confusion but eventually nodded again. “You have to be stalking me I swear. How do you always know everything, little girl?” But Rey realized it must have been a rhetorical question because he immediately walked in the opposite direction towards some of the cars. Every car in the lot was older, and look like it needed love. Rey felt giddy at the prospect of getting her own car and fixing it up and then maybe even racing it one day.

Ben led her straight to another ‘76 mustang that a deep blue. “What about this one?”

Rey squealed and bounced excitedly. Ben could definitely say that this was the most excited he had seen her up to this point.

“Is that a yes?” He pressed, knowing the answer.

“Yes! Yes yes. It’s perfect.” And Rey went about checking the vehicle and looking and inspecting every thing she could while Ben went to pay the owner for the car. Rey looked inside to see the dark leather seats and the interior that was a little dingy but she knew she could fix it up. She felt a slight drop in her chest. Ben wasn’t going to teach her how to work in the car. He wasn’t going to be there, it’d just be her.

“It’s done.” She heard his voice coming from behind her. They’re gonna take it and drop it off at the house. But I want to take you to the track. It’s getting dark and everyone will be out there soon.”

Before Ben could turn around walk back towards his car. Rey ran up, and wrapped her arms around his waist. He awkwardly patted her should have a bit, unsure of how to respond. This was the most emotion Rey had shown other than anger, and Ben didn’t know how to deal with it.

She pulled back to look at him. “Thank you.” She tried really hard to keep the grin from her face. Even Ben had to put effort into not smiling back at the young girl.

“Yeah, yeah. Just didn’t want you to miss me too much.” And she shoved him back trying to hold back a laugh before they both retreated back to the car and took off towards the racing loop.

Ben’s eyes stayed on the road by a tension grew between his eyebrows and Rey noticed his hands tighten on the steering wheel. “Rey..” He said tightly. “I don’t want you to leave my side, so you understand? There...” He hesitated. “There are just some not so good people there and you’re still a little young. I don’t want you to get involved in all that.”

“It’s not like you’re a saint, Ben.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m serious, Rey. I’m not messing around. You leave my sight one time... we’re leaving.”

“Okay, okay. Whatever.” She conceded.

And once they pulled into the land filled with all different kids of cars and motorcycles that Rey then kind of understood what Ben was saying. There was a large demographic of people there and some looked more dangerous than others. But Rey’s eyes eventually fell on the loop. There were two cars racing each other on the loop while the crowd in the bleachers cheered and threw their beer bottles. When Ben started heading towards the tall overlook tower Rey scurried along to keep up with him but she struggled to follow along with his long strides.

“Solo! What are you doing here man?” A guy that was still talk but shorter than Ben hopped as he can down the ladder from the tower. Rey observed him and although he looked to be about Ben’s age, he had a full shadow on his face. He also had a full smile, which was very different then Ben. This guy seemed to be the type who would be the life of the party.

“Hey Poe, this is Rey. The girl my parents adopted a little while back.” Ben introduced, not even close to the amount of enthusiasm the other guy had had.

“Oh yeah! Hey Rey. I’m Poe. It’s nice to meet ya!” Poe said sticking his fist out for a fist bump at which Rey just look at in disdain but didn’t reciprocate.

Ben explained. “Yeah she’s not much of a people person. She may bite that hand.”

Poe laughed. “Yeah, I can see why you two get along. Well, what are you to doing out here?”

“Rey just got a ‘76 mustang and I wanted to bring her to the track before I headed out to school. Let her see it.” Ben turned his attention to the race that Rey had her focus on and seemed to take an interest in it as well.

“Well are you going to race tonight?” Poe’s question was directed at Ben but it caught Rey’s attention too. Ben? Was he going to race?

“I can’t leave the kid by herself.”

“Then take her with you!” Ben shot daggers at Poe with his eyes at that. “I’m serious. Oh! And I have the perfect race for you. Hux is here.”

Ben stayed still and seemed to be thinking about it before her turned to Poe and spoke. “Leave.” And before Poe could protest, Ben was squatting down in front of Rey and looking up at her.

“Would you be okay if I went to race and you came with me?” He asked slowly. “I don’t want to do it unless you’re comfortable.”

“What? Are you scared to race the guy?” She asked.

“No. But—“

“Then don’t be a wanker and show me the loops.” Rey took off towards the car as Ben growled at Poe to do the race.

And before she knew it, Rey was lined up at the starting line in the passenger seat of Ben’s mustang. He had multiple cars but this one had to be her favorite because she knew he built it himself. All the engine and everything.

“Buckle up. And don’t do anything dumb.” Was the last thing he said to her before the race started and Rey was on cloud 9.

She felt the adrenaline literally pumping through her veins and the excitement bubbling through her lips.

Ben was winning.

Whoever the Hux dude was, had a great car but didn’t know how to drive it.

By the time they were in the last lap it was almost laughable. Ben was so far ahead he could have slowed down? But he didn’t. And they sailed through finish line with no problem. But Ben didn’t stop as drove and drove straight of the track and onto the road to go home.

“That was incredible!” Rey said.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” His voice was kind.

“I loved it. Thank you Ben.” She said honestly.

But by the time they arrived at home though, Ben knew it wasn’t going to go well. The lights were still on, and it was late, so that meant that meant..... that meant a fight.

He watched as Rey ran into the house but he slowed behind her and paced himself as he made his way up the steps and through the doorway.

“Ben, what the hell? Where have you been?” Han growled out and got in his face.

Ben pushed his arm away. “Calm down. We ran around a few places. It’s not big deal.”

“No big deal? No big deal?! Ben! You mother was out of her mind with worry.” The way his voice reverberated of the walls with his shout made Ben want to flinch.

“For who? Me or Rey?”

“Ben—“

“No. Stop. She’s fine! In fact, she had fun. And I didn’t infect her with my evilness.”

Han stilled. “Now that’s not what I’m saying.”

“But isn’t it? Isn’t it dad? You two are worried that I’ll mess her up.” Ben shouted and her voice got louder with every phrase. “Well fuck you. I haven’t done anything.”

“Oh yeah, just play the victim like you always do. Well you crossed a line this time Ben. And you aren’t allowed to hang out with her. You can’t be trusted.”

Ben stilled. He had no idea how much those words would effect him. “Okay dad.” His voice was eerily calm. And he turned and took the steps two at a time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooh. Talk about stress. I’ve been working on this chapter forever! 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think is going to happen next.

**Author's Note:**

> Hiii guys! Please leave ideas and comments and literally anything! I love to hear from you. Had to start a new account! If you’re from my old page... I’m so sorry! Those stories are gone :/ rip. Okay but seriously. Welcome to the rollercoaster hahah.


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